The theatrical metal experience
ETHEREAL KINGDOMS + ANOXIA + ARCHANGEL
March 13th 2021
Fjordagerscenen
Strandvejen 58
5240 Odense
Ticket price: 150 DKK – Limited tickets available due to COVID restrictions
Ticket available now
GET READY WITH THIS SPOTIFY PLAYLIST FOR CIRKUS METAL
★★★★★★★★☆☆ for our first live show since the lockdown from MODGIFT! We joined our MIGHTY MUSIC label mates WAYWARD DAWN and CHRONICLE for our very first open-air experience.
A wonderful night with new faces, old friends and so much pent up energy to be released
Our record label Mighty Music presented this open air showcase night, that according to Modgift was a
“Great great evening, that brings renewed hope for the ‘return’ of live music”
The reviewer continues with the following remarks:
Sofia Schmidt’s performance fronting Ethereal Kingdoms, really lifts the level of the band.
When she enters the stage, she (…) is a vocalist of absolute format. What a voice she has.
Not only Sofia’s voice and performance, but the songs of our 2019 debut album Hollow Mirror made an impression on this metal journalist:
(…) they can write some very catchy music in this band.
(…) their album from last year have really grown on me and after this night, the same goes for the live performance.
Thank you MODGIFT for this lovely account of a wonderful evening at BYHAVEN.
We cannot wait to be back on stage with our next shows at NÆSTVED METALFEST and XAON/SUNLESS DAWN/ETHEREAL KINGDOMS/LAMENTARI
Follow our next shows on our website or on our social media accounts.
MIGHTY MUSIC PRESENTS: ETHEREAL KINGDOMS + WAYWARD DAWN + CHRONICLE
Venue: Byhaven, Pumpehuset
Date:
Price: FREE
Due to COVID-19 guidelines from the Danish Governement, this will be a seated concert. 250 seats available.
After the show at SLAY HOME SLAY SAFE, our vocalist SOFIA had a talk with DEN TUNGE RADIO. Live and raw from the backstage lounge at FORBRÆNDINGEN, we talk about the visual and theatrical elements of Ethereal Kingdoms, how to deal with being a band during a pandemic and what’s next for Ethereal Kingdoms.
How does it feel to play again, but without an audience?
“Being back on stage is like an out of body experience!”
– SOFIA SCHMIDT
“A concert is a transformative space, a symbiosis between the audience and the performing artist. Suddenly, I can’t see and feel the audience. It feels like we play more internally with each other in the band like this.”
-SOFIA SCHMIDT
KASPER asked about the importance of the visual elements in Ethereal Kingdoms live performances:
“It’s like a complete aesthetic. (…) We have a theatre theme, so we incorporate those elements. We use video backdrops, light design (…) We create a universe you can enter. The music can of course exist on its own. When I watch a concert, I want to see something larger than life. The visuals make the story clearer”
-SOFIA
“Music and art can be a place of escape in this time, where ____ (…) we try to create such a space, which people can enter.”
– Sofia Schmidt
Explore DEN TUNGE RADIO on Facebook, Instagram and Mixcloud
In 2019, Sofia also visited the studio of DEN TUNGE RADIO for a Symphonic metal special show. Find it in the archives here:
Gixter Online Festival
19.00-19.30
Livestream from our rehearsal room
Event
You are invited to join us in our rehearsal room for our very first live streamed performance, brought to you by Gixter
Enjoy a raw, personal and up-close experience of our theatrical metal universe, May 1st at 19:00 GMT+1
A personal and different version of our symphonic metal universe.
The show is free, and signed copies of our Hollow Mirror debut album on Vinyl and CD will be available, as well as a small raffle in the comments section.
Tune in on our facebook livestream
Friday May 1st 2020 at 19:00 GMT+1
Join us in our rehearsal room for our very first full band live playthrough video.
For this live session of Beginnings, we invited our good friend, outstanding violinist and singer Amalie Skriver.
We wanted to share the energy we experience in our rehearsal room and invite you to feel what happens behind the stage curtains of Ethereal Kingdoms.
This video has a more low-key feeling compared to the character of our live shows, providing an intimate and personal experience of the dynamics in our little theatrical metal ensemble.
Capturing the spontaneous fun while still creating a visually interesting outcome was easier than it sounded. With some lights, coffee, cookies and a bit of additional sound adjustments, we got right into the feeling as the camera started rolling.
Our good friend Christoffer Valentin Hildebrandt helped out with the mix and production of the audio tracks.
He created the majestic soundscape of his band SUNLESS DAWN‘s critically acclaimed debut album “TIMEWEAVER”. If you’re into progressive metal, definitely check it out!
Video was filmed by Alexander Petrovich Birk, who also documented our performance with WINTERSUN in 2019. An absolute joy to work with the guy again.
With some editing magic, Sofia brought it all together at her little workspace-corner in our rehearsal room.
Amalie Skriver is not only featured in this live session. She is a strong presence on our 2019 debut album Hollow Mirror.
She appears with her emotive solo violin and otherworldly backing vocals on most of the tracks. Amalie has also joined us at our special theatrical performances at NORDIC NOISE FESTIVAL, FINNTROLL SUPPORT, and latest at our WINTERSUN support show in 2019.
On Hollow Mirror, every song is a story of its own, with veins and ties reaching across the tracks and combining into a larger overlying narrative.
Beginnings is the counterpart for our 2019 single Endings. Together, they tell the story of blind hope and bitter consequences. They are also related to the story of Heartchamber, which acts as a prequel for the events unfolding in the two songs.
If you look closely at the background of our video, you will notice our stage backdrops having the imagery of the characters from the artwork for Beginnings and Endings, but in a ghostly, incorporeal form.
Hear the story of Endings here, with this beautiful lyric video created by Scott Rudd, featuring Anna Holms enchanting artwork:
ETHEREAL KINGDOMS LIVE AT FORBRÆNDINGEN
9th of October 2020
By HEAVYMETAL.DK and FORBRÆNDINGEN
Vognporten 11
2620 Albertslund
Lineup
XAON (CH)
SUNLESS DAWN (DK)
ETHEREAL KINGDOMS (DK)
LAMENTARI (DK)
Doors: 18.00
Swiss progressive death metal mastodons XAON return to Denmark for a night of wonder, magic and complexity at FORBRÆNDINGEN in Albertslund, Copenhagen.
In the company of WACKEN METAL BATTLE DENMARK 2015 winners SUNLESS DAWN, we bring our finest songs to this show.
We will also have a special collaboration between Sunless Dawn and Ethereal Kingdoms at this performance.
New symphonic black metal band LAMENTARI joins this show, unleashing their critically acclaimed debut EP f live this night.
XAON’s 2019 album SOLIPSIS made it onto our “Sounds of the Kingdoms” Spotify playlist, a handpicked selection of songs that inspire, delight and fascinate us. Vocalist Sofia especially is a big fan of this band.
Ethereal Kingdoms live at Udlejre church
February 21st 2002
Udlejre Kirke
Ørnebjergvej 7, 3560 Ølstykke, Copenhagen
Doors 19.00
Concert: 20.00
Reception with wine after the show
Free admissionLimited seats, please reserve your ticket here
SOLD OUT
Ethereal Kingdoms presents a musical total experience in Udlejre Church
The critically acclaimed band experiments in the intersection between classical, metal and theatre concert in an intense, contrasting and emotional show, featuring the church’s beautiful organ.
The stories are brought to live exclusively by The Kingdom Choir, the church’s organ and special guest soloists in concord and contrast with roaring drums, elegant guitar lines and Sofia Schmidt’s characteristic soprano notes and low growls
The concert program consists of works from the critically acclaimed debut album Hollow Mirror (Mighty Music 2019) and two new pieces of music composed specifically for this concert experience.
Surrender. Let yourself be surprised, overwhelmed and full of wonder when Ethereal Kingdoms opens the doors to their beautiful and strange universe.
ACT I
01. Hollow light
New composition for organ and vocal ensemble
with organist Karsten Kristensen and The Kingdom Choir
02. Distance
ACT II
03. Ashes within
With flute soloist Lærke Krarup, Karsten Kristensen and The Kingdom Choir
04. Silent dance
with flute soloist Lærke Krarup and The Kingdom Choir
ACT III
05. My Kantele – Amorphis cover
With flute soloist Lærke Krarup, Karsten Kristensen and The Kingdom Choir
06. Lumisade
New composition for bouzouki, frame drum, electric bass and vocals for this concert
07. Heartchamber – semi-acoustic version
with flute soloist Lærke Krarup, Christian Haystack Rasmussen on Bouzuki and Jon Elmquist on frame drum.
08. Quando Corpus Morietur & Amen
12th movement from G. B. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater
Soprano: Sofia Schmidt
Contratenor: Darnell Boddie
Organist: Karsten & Simone Kristensen
as well as the Ethereal Kingdoms metal ensemble for the “Amen” passage
09. Hollow light – reprise
with organist Karsten Kristensen
Facebook event
Egedal lokalavis
Egedal lokalavis 2
Vores Egedal
Tornvang open air 2020
Ethereal Kingdoms live at TORNVANG OPEN AIR
August 21st/22nd 2020
Tornvang Open Air festival
Lunkærvej 1, 8500 Gjerrild, Århus, Denmark
With Shadowspawn, Anoxia, Demolixer, Archangel, Herezy and more TBA
Doors: TBA
Concert: TBA
TICKETS
250,- DKKR|Billetten.dk
https://www.facebook.com/events/421814431807659/
We unleash our universe at our very first open air performance.
Tornvang festival writes:
“The band creates grandiose and pompous metal with a taste for the melodic, but at the same time balancing a harder and more direct edge.
The band released the album “HOLLOW MIRROR” via MIGHTY MUSIC. The album received good reviews and Ethereal Kingdoms will without a doubt give the audience or TORNVANG a taste of how the songs work live as well.
If you add their highly original and almost theatrical stage performance, you can definitely expect a memorable experience at the festival, when the band enters the stage!”
Explore our upcoming shows or read about others’ experience in our live review section.
Udgårdsfest 2020 – Denmark’s finest viking/pagan metal festival
21st/22nd of August 2020, Pumpehuset, Copenhagen
Early bird tickets available now:
https://bit.ly/2saPYnw
In the grand company of Unleashed, Varang Nord, Heidra, Einherjer and more to be announced.
Ethereal Kingdoms return to Pumpehuset in 2020
A very special night for us, as this was the venue we played our very first show and the Wacken Metal Battle Denmark 2018 Finals.
In celebration, we bring special surprises for this show!
You will experience the songs from Hollow Mirror with a uniquely scandinavian and nordic twist as we celebrate our roots at Udgårdsfest 2020.
Tickets are on sale now.
Get in the pagan mood with our cover of Amorphis’ My Kantele:
Enter the theatrical metal experience.
Ashes within, the opening song of this Ethereal Kingdoms live performance is now shared with the world.
A raw, personal and intense recording from our performance with Wintersun, Seven Thorns and Faanefjell in Roskilde, Denmark, 30th of August.
“I search for beauty. For within me there is none”
Unpredictable beauty.
Unexpected brutality.
Enter the theatrical metal experience with this Ethereal Kingdoms live clip.
See upcoming show dates at the Show-section of our website or follow us on facebook, instagram and youtube for latest news from Ethereal Kingdoms.
Others who have entered the theatrical metal experience say the following:
“I witnessed something unique”
Explore our press archive
9 of 10 stars – Heavymetal.dk
“A show of the grandiose kind” –
4 of 5 stars – Metal A Day
“New pages in the history of this genre” – Heavymetal.it
“This band has a story to tell”
8 of 10 – Powerofmetal.dk
In celebration of the release of our debut album Hollow Mirror
We have created a special night full of strange wonder and beauty
We play a one-of-a kind acoustic set with special guests
Enjoy the band’s signature ‘Sovereign’ drink
Contests, surprises and more!
You are invited
Hollow Mirror release concert
11th of October 2019
Doors: 19.30
Showtime: 20.15
DJ’s, special surprises and more!
Venue:
Zeppelin Rock Bar, Vesterbrogade 45, Copenhagen
For this show, we will be joined by flute soloist Lærke Leth, viola soloist Hansi Andersen and The Kingdom Choir in a bit of a different configuration. This night, they will consist of Victoria Omberg, Oliver Svensson and Mads ‘Arpeggio’ Sørensen. All of these artists except Victoria took part in creating Hollow Mirror, so this will be a very special moment for us to unleash the strange beauty in an intimate acoustic setting.
Hollow Mirror has already enchanted reviewers and metal journalists across the world:
10 of 10 – “You’re in for an experience!” – Metalized
6 of 6 – “Beauty interrupted by brutality” – Calle’s Rock Corner
8 of 10 – “A perfect balance of brightness and darkness” – Metal Temple
4 of 5 – “Almost near perfection” – Metal A Day
82 of 100 – “A complete range of voices” – Musica.be
12 of 15 – Legacy Magazine
82 /100 – Fireworks Magazine
September 20th and 21st 2019 something new happened in the Danish metal scene. We were among the lineup for the very first installment of Copenhagen Metal Fest – a new festival focusing only on Danish metal bands.
Heavymetal.dk reached out to us for an interview before the show, where we talk about our inspirations, the state of the Danish music scene and how it feels to be part of starting up something entirely new.
“We’re not afraid of taking chances and creating shows, that extend beyond just being a concert”
With Claus Ljørring for Heavymetal.dk
“Expect something intimate, something intense – with surprises! (…)
We’re playing on a theatre stage, (…) so there’s space for getting up close and personal when the intensity and emotions are peaking. “
“Our format is flexible. Theatrical metal can be a lot of things. We’re gonna have a blast regardless”
Read the rest of the interview at Heavymetal.dk, who have also awarded our debut album Hollow Mirror an 8/10 score in their latest review.
How did our intimate performance go at the dark theatre stage of ZeBu?
Three metal journalists shared their experience here:
“A show of the grandiose kind” – 4 of 5 stars – Metal A Day
“The vocals are impressive as always!” – Devilution.dk
“Impressive!” – Metaltone.dk
Our Nordic Noise 2019 special show gets ★★★★★★★★☆☆ from powerofmetal.dk!
We had the honor of playing at the big stage of Amager Bio for the 2019 installment of Nordic Noise Festival. We were in the grand company of Candlemass, Tygers of Pan Tang and other great acts during the two lovely spring days in May.
For this show, we celebrated the release of our first single Heartchamber.
We wanted to make something magical, so we brought special guest violinist Amalie Skriver and The Kingdom Choir along to our show, as well as some special effects.
Journalist Mia Hall of Danish webzine powerofmetal.dk witnessed this performance.
These are excerpts of her thoughts:
“The way this singer sings is rarely heard. Her opera voice, screams and growling shows some real technicality to her singing, and it is almost as if she has different masks she puts on. Very impressive!”
Mia Hall, Powerofmetal.dk
“I can tell that this band has a story to tell, as the singer is very active on stage, both dancng around like a fairy and then jumping around, growling and breaking things on stage. The choir and fiddle also helps to get the atmosphere in that right kind of mood, as symphonic power metal can give. And the harmonies sound GREAT!”
“No matter what they do, it can not be less intense than what they performed this evening.”
Thank you so much powerofmetal.dk!
GAFFA and Metal A Day was also present at this performance.
Want to hear more impressions of our shows?
Check out the reviews section for album and live reviews!
★★★★☆ from Metaltone.dk for Ethereal Kingdoms’ special theatrical show at Royal Metal Fest 2019.
Backed with a special production grant, we brough stories from Hollow Mirror to life for the first time. We created a theatrical show featuring The Kingdom Choir, dancers, special effects and special light show.
Johnny Fravn, Metaltone.dk
“There were different highlights at Royal Metal fest this year. One of them definitely was Ethereal Kingdoms”
“I could almost have wanted a bigger stage for this show”
“The songs were executed beautifully with (…) Sofia fronting. (…) She’s educated in opera (…) but sometimes shifts to high pitch screams and even very masculine deep growls. (…). I was deeply impressed (…).”
“(…) performing the songs in text, dancing and acting backed by skilled and competent musicians (…)”
“An incredibly ambitious show”
“We experienced death, joy, sorrow, love and ghosts this night (…) one of the interesting performances this year”
Thank you so much metaltone.dk!
Before the show, we spoke with Royal Metal Fest about our thoughts and ambitions for this one of a kind performance in this interview.
We were honored to be backed with financial grant from DMF, DAF and Metal Royale foundation.
Others who have witnessed this performance say the following:
4,5 of 5 stars – “Refreshingly ambitious” – Revolution Music
9 of 10 stars – “I witnessed something unique” – Heavymetal.dk
Curious about our theatrical metal universe? Learn more in our about-section!
★★★★★★★★★☆ from Heavymetal.dk for Ethereal Kingdom’s special theatrical show at Royal Metal Fest 2019.
April 6th 2019 at 17.00 at Radar in Århus marked a milestone for Ethereal Kingdoms.
We unleashed our very first theatrical special performance at Royal Metal Fest .
We received their grant for creating an extraordinary concert.
We assembled The Kingdom Choir, premiered new songs from Hollow Mirror, unleashed corporeal ghosts, shattered violins, blood and a torrent of emotion from the intimate stage setting.
Journalist Jeanett Meibom shared her thoughts about our show:
“I was absorbed by what was happening on stage (…) I left with an experience of having witnessed something unique.”
“Lead vocalist Sofia Schmidt’s voice is incomparable to anything else in the Danish metalscene”“(….) entered Radar with a show in two acts: Act I and Act II. The first round featured just the band on stage but as the show moved along, more joined in: smoke-spitting ghosts and three young male choir singers (…)”
Jeanett Meibom, Heavymetal.dk
“The theatrical aspect of Ethereal Kingdoms is something nobody else in Denmark can do”
Thank you so much Heavymetal.dk!
Other media outlets shared heavymetal.dk’s excitement about our special show performance:
4,5 of 5 stars – “Refreshingly ambitious” – Revolution Music
4 of 5 stars – “Death, love and ghosts” – Metaltone.dk
Use the review section to explore other’s experiences of our music.
Dare to enter the theatrical metal experience?
Check our show-section and see if we’re playing at a venue near you!
Follow us on facebook and instagram for more updates.
4,5 out of 5 stars for Ethereal Kingdoms special theatrical show at Royal Metal Fest 2019
Royal Metal Fest 2019 was a very special show for Ethereal Kingdoms.
Supported by a special grant from Metal Royale foundation, DMF and DAF, we created our very first installment of out theatrical special show format. Employing two dancers and premiering The Kingdom Choir, we told many of the stories of Hollow Mirror for the very first time at the Radar stage, 6th of April 2019. With the use of video backdrops, special light show by Martin Rasmussen (MØL, Hatesphere, Copenhell and more) and lots of special effects, we brought our stories and songs to life in a new format.
Journalist Andreas Kielland was present and awarded us a grand 4,5 of 5 stars!
“There’s more attention to detail than what is found within several bigger acts in symphonic metal.”
Andreas Kielland, revolution-inc.dk
“The narrative is a chapter of its own. For the band’s theatrical, epic foundation does not only cover the form, but also the content”
“They are a refreshingly ambitious project”
“I would watch them live again, not only because I feel truly entertained but uplifted, inspired and hopeful on behalf on the group”
Thank you so very much Revolution Music!
Royal Metal Fest also reached out to us for an interview. We spoke to them before the show when we were in the heat of planing the performance and rehearsing it to perfection. You can find this interview and more in the interviews section here on our website.
Other metal media left this night with the following impressions:
9 of 10 stars – “I witnessed something unique” – Heavymetal.dk
4 of 5 stars – “Death, love and ghosts” – Metaltone.dk
Finntroll. Sylvatica. Vanir.
A sold out venue. Special guests.
A broken violin.
That was the ingredients of Ethereal Kingdoms’ night supporting Finntroll at Gimle 21st of September 2018.
Fresh off stage with the adrenaline still rushing, Sofia spoke with journalist Davide Bonavida of Heavymetal.it
In this very first italian magazine feature, they talk about musical influences for Ethereal Kingdoms, the creative process and performance.
A few excerpts from the original interview in Italian 🇮🇹
“We wanted to create something unique that differentiates us, not just copy other bands. We don’t just make music, we create stories”
Sofia Schmidt with Davide Bonavida for Heavymetal.it
“I study as a classical singer (…) whereas Christian comes directly from death metal. The funny thing is that in our compositions it’s me who brings the chaotic part and the growling while he brings the nostalgic melodies.”
“(…) those who spend time listening to us cannot get that time back. So I want to make sure they have a good experience.”
“(…) you can’t wait for something to happen by itself, you have to do it yourself. We took initiative to organize this show. I contacted the club while Christian called the bands he already knew personally. (…) we needed a prominent name (…) so we contacted Finntroll, explaining our project and … they said yes. I could not believe it!”
Portrait by Gaia Micatovich
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with us, Heavymetal.it!
About the performance, the media said:
“They can write new pages in the history of this genre” – Heavymetal.it
“A sense for great melodies” – Blastbeast.dk4 of 5 stars – “Flying pieces of a violin” – Metal A Day
Explore our performance of Endings from this night in this live video:
Review of Finntroll, Vanir, Sylvatica, Ethereal Kingdoms at Gimle, 21st of September 2018 .
2018 was an intense first year for Ethereal Kingdoms:
Two showcase concerts with Blastbeast, SPOT festival, Wacken Metal Battle Denmark finals and last but not least: supporting legendary folk metallers Finntroll at their show in Gimle, Denmark.
For this show we brought special guests in the form of violinist and signer Amalie Skriver as well as some shattering special effects.
Italian webzine Heavymetal.it was present at this concert and shared their thoughts in this review:
“Those who think that the symphonic metal has nothing more to say will soon have to change its mind. This band, young and well organized, has all the qualities to write new pages in the history of this genre”
Davide Bonavida , Heavymetal.it
“The charming singer Sofia Schmidt (…) has a truly phenomenal voice capable of alternating lyrical singer virtuosities, evolving unexpectedly into a true growling beast.”
Portrait by Gaia Micatovich // Heavymetal.it
Aside from this review, vocalist Sofia also spoke with Davide Bonavida of Heavymetal.it for an interview about Ethereal Kingdoms’ inspirations, ambitions and their unique stage presence.
By: Davide Bonavida
Published: 18th of October 2018
September 21st 2019 marked the night where we joined legendary Finntroll at the stage of Gimle, accompanied by Sylvatica and Vanir.
A special night for us all, as we prepared a few surprises by bringing violinist and singer Amalie Skriver along as special guest as well as premiering striking animated video backdrops by illustrator Anna Hom Sørensen.
Journalist Anders Lundtang of Metal A Day shared his impressions of our performance at the sold-out Roskilde venue:
“During their show this nighty, you could risk getting hit by flying pieces of a broken violin, which was smashed on stage. This only serves to underline the richness of detail in this orchestra”
Anders Lundtang, Metal A Day
“The vocal register of lead singer Sofia Schmidt is sure to impress. anyone who aspires to perform on stage”
“The symbiosis between band and audience was striking (…)”
Thank you so much Metal A Day!